TRENT UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
History 170
Conquest, Resistance and Revolution
2008-09
We live in a world of profound inequality. In the wealthy northern hemisphere, some people sue
McDonalds for allegedly making them obese while in the poor southern hemisphere others starve from
drought or war induced famine. From a global perspective, this course examines the historical processes
that have created this situation. Focusing on the last five centuries, it looks at why some societies have
dominated and exploited others, and how subject peoples have attempted to resist. It also examines how
sometimes violent revolutions have tried to implement radical change with varying degrees of success.
These themes will be explored through a series of lectures, films, seminar discussions and readings on the
history of the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Americas, Australia and East Asia. As this is a first
year course, there will also be a strong emphasis on developing basic skills such as research and writing
techniques for history.
Lecturers
Marion Boulby
Nancy Christie
Ivana Elbl
Van Nguyen-Marshall
David Sheinin
Graham Taylor
Office
LEC S119.1
LEC N103.1
LEC S114
LEC S101.4
LEC S101.9
LEC N103.1
(Course Coordinator)
TIMES/LOCATIONS:
Lectures: Wednesdays 9:00- 10:50 AM
Location: Wenjack Theatre
Tutorials: see timetable
Telephone
748-1011 (x 7837)
748-1011 (x 5108)
748-1011 (x 7833)
748-1011 (x 7169)
748-1011 (x 7843)
748-1011 (x 5108)
email
marionboulby@trentu.ca
nancychristie@trentu.ca
ielbl@trentu.ca
vannguyenmarshall@trentu.ca
dsheinin@trentu.ca
gtaylor@trentu.ca
TEXTBOOK:
All readings are in the History 170 Coursepack (2008/09) which is available at the Trent University
Bookstore.
EVALUATION SCHEME:
Fall Term:
1. 1st Essay Assignment 10%
2. Midterm Examination 20%
3. Tutorial Participation 10%
Winter Term:
1. Research Paper 30%
2. Final Examination 20%
3. Tutorial Participation 10%
DEADLINES/IMPORTANT DATES:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
1st Essay: 29 October 2008
Midterm Examination: TBA
Research Paper Proposal: 4 February 2009
Research Paper: 18 March 2009
Final Examination: TBA
LECTURES/SEMINARS/READINGS:
Lectures: There will be a double period lecture every Wednesday from 9:00 am to 10:50 pm. Lectures will
offer a broad overview of themes relevant to the course and are supported by readings from the History 170
Coursepack, which will also be the focus of seminar discussions. The lectures are organized into sections
which initially proceed chronologically on developments between the 15th and 18th centuries; then the
course adopts a regional approach, reviewing developments in the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, the
Americas, Australia/New Zealand and Southeast Asia, with several more general “bridging” lectures.
Seminars: In addition to discussions of the readings, seminars will be used for discussing techniques for
researching and writing history papers. During the Fall term you will prepare an essay assignment, which
will be made available on the course website early in the Fall term; and an essay-based midterm
examination, which will also be administered through the course website. During the Winter term you will
prepare a research essay, with the guidance of the seminar leader. There will be an essay-based final
examination which will be administered through the course website at the end of the year.
COURSE WORK:
1st Essay (Due Oct 29): This short writing assignment should be approximately 4-5 typed, double spaced
pages. The assignment will allow students an opportunity to work with primary sources; Students will be
asked to analyze relevant primary documents and address a number of questions relating to them. The
documents and questions will be posted on the course website at the appropriate time.
Midterm Exam (TBA): Essay question format. The examination will focus on material covered in the
lectures in the Fall term, but you will also be expected to identify links between the lectures and the
readings, as discussed in your seminars.
Research Paper Proposal (Due Feb 4): Students are required to hand in a one-page proposal for the
research paper that is due on Mar 18. This proposal should outline clearly the topic and purpose of their
paper. The proposal should also include a list of books and articles that are relevant to the paper. You may
pursue research topics that are related to the themes and material of the course. Students are encouraged
consult their seminar leader for further guidance. While there is no grade assigned to this assignment,
students are required to submit the proposal in order to proceed with their research paper.
Research Paper (Due Mar 18): The second writing assignment will be a research-based paper. As such,
students are expected to conduct research, consulting scholarly monographs, journal articles, and books to
produce a paper with a clear purpose and thesis. The essay should be around 2000 words long or 8-10 typed,
double spaced pages. It must be supported by footnotes or endnotes and a bibliography with at least 12
relevant sources (two of which must be journal articles). The purpose of this assignment is to build upon the
research and writing skills introduced in the earlier writing assignments.
Final Exam (TBA): Essay question format. The examination questions will focus on the lectures in the
Winter term, but you will also be expected to identify links between material covered in the lectures and the
readings, as discussed in your seminars.
Late Submissions: You are encouraged to contact your seminar leaders if there might be a problem
submitting an assignment on time. Seminar leaders are under no obligation to accept late assignments.
Plagiarism: Plagiarism is an extremely serious academic offense and carries penalties varying from failure
in an assignment to debarment from the University. Definitions, procedures and penalties for dealing with
plagiarism are set out in Trent University's Policy on Plagiarism which is available on request from every
department or college or from the Registrar's Office.
Access to Instruction: Trent’s policy toward accessibility: “It is Trent University’s intent to create an
inclusive learning environment. If a student has a disability and/or health consideration and feels that he/she
may need accommodations to succeed in this course, the student should contact the Disability Services
Office (BL Suite 109, 748-1281, disabilityservices@trentu.ca) as soon as possible. Complete text can be
found under Access to Instruction in the Academic Calendar.”
FALL LECTURE OUTLINE:
DATE
Week 1
LECTURE TOPIC
Course Introduction
10 Sept
Week 2
G. Taylor
PART ONE:
CONQUEST,
17 Sept
RESISTANCE AND
REVOLUTION IN THE
"PREMODERN
WORLD"
Conquest in the
Premodern World
Week
3 24
Sept
I. Elbl
Resistance in the
Premodern World
READINGS
(1) Camilla Townsend, “Burying the White Gods: New
Perspectives on the Conquest of Mexico.” American Historical
Review vol.108 (2003): 658-687 *
[* Note: This source is also available electronically through the Bata Library Eresources. Other sources available electronically will also be designated with an
asterisk.]
(2) Bernal Diaz del Castillo, Conquest of New Spain (New York:
Penguin Books 1963), pp. 284-307.*
(1)P.J.P. Goldberg, “The Peasant’s Revolt, 1381,” in P.J.P.
Goldberg, Medieval England: a Social History (London: Arnold
2004), pp. 174-185.
I. Elbl
(2) Richard Barrie Dobson, ed., The Peasant’s Revolt of 1381
(New York: MacMillan 1970), pp. 362-76, 392-405.*
Week 4
Revolutions in the
Premodern World
1 Oct
(1) M. Kishlansky, P. Geary, P. O’Brien, “The French
Revolution” in Civilization in the West (New York: Harper Collins
1991), pp. 610-632.
I. Elbl
(2) “Declaration of Independence” United States, 1776. *
[www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/declare.htm]
Week 5
8 Oct
Week 6
PART TWO: ISLAM
AND THE MIDDLE
EAST
(3) “Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen,” France 1789.
* [www.yale.edu/lawweb/Avalon/rightsof.htm]
Tamara Sonn, “Preface” and “Many Paths to One God,” in A Brief
History of Islam , pp. xv- 31
The World of Islam
M. Boulby
Islam in the Modern
(1) Samuel P. Huntington, “The Clash of Civilizations?” Foreign
Middle East
Affairs, vol. 72, no. 3 (Summer 1993): 22-49.
15 Oct
M. Boulby
(2) Fouad Adjami, “The Summoning,” Foreign Affairs, vol. 72,
no. 4 (September/October 1993): 2-9.
READING BREAK: 2026 Oct
Week 7 Israelis and Palestinians (1) James L. Gelvin, “Origins of the Arab-Israeli Dispute,” and
“Israel, the Arab States and the Palestinians,” in The Modern
Middle East: A History (New York: Oxford University Press
29 Oct
M. Boulby
2005), pp. 206-220, 268-277.
**Fall Essay due
29 October**
Week 8
Empires of Oil: From
Texas to Tehran
5 Nov
(1) Carl Solberg, “The Tyranny of Oil: How and Why the United
States Got Involved in the Middle East,” American Heritage vol.
28, no.1 (December 1976): 9-13, 78-83.*
G. Taylor
Week 9
12 Nov
Multinationals and
Petrostates: From
Mossadegh
(2) Andrew Bacevich, “The Real World War IV,” Wilson
Quarterly vol. 29, no. 1 (Winter 2005): 36-61. *
(1) Mustafa Zahrani, “The Coup That Changed the Middle East:
Mossadegh versus the CIA in Retrospect,” World Policy Journal
vol. 19, no. 2 (2002): 93-99. *
(2) “The Iranian Revolution: An Oral History with Henry Precht,
then [U.S.] State Department Desk Officer,” Interview, Middle
East Journal. Vol. 58, no. 1 (Winter 2004): 9-31. *
G. Taylor
Week PART THREE: AFRICA (1) John Thornton, “Slavery and African Social Structure,” and
10
“Enslavement and the Slave Trade,” in Africa and the Africans in
The Slave Trade And the Making of the Atlantic World, 1400-1800 (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press 1998), pp. x-xiv, 72-97, 98-125.
19 Nov
Pre-Colonial Africa
to Ahmadinejad.
Week
11
I. Elbl
Debates About Great (1) R.N. Hall, “The Great Zimbabwe,” Journal of the Royal
Zimbabwe (1250-1400)/ African Society, vol. 4, no. 5 (April 1905): 295-300. *
26 Nov Conquest and Resistance
in Southern Rhodesia (2) Thomas N. Huffman, “The Soapstone Birds from Great
Zimbabwe,” African Arts, vol. 18, no. 3 (May 1985): 68-100. *
(Zimbabwe) (1890-1923)
Week
12
T. Stapleton
Zimbabwe’s War of
Liberation (1965-80)/
(1) Ian Martinez, “The History of the Use of Bacteriological and
Chemical Agents During Zimbabwe’s Liberation War of 1965-80
3 Dec
The Colonial Legacy:
Conflicts in Independent
by Rhodesian Forces,” Third World Quarterly, vol. 23, no. 6
(December 2002): 1159-1179. *
Zimbabwe (1980-2006)
T. Stapleton
MIDTERM
EXAMINATION
TBA
WINTER TERM 2009
Week
13
Climate, Disease and
Imperialism
(1) Alfred W. Crosby, Ecological Imperialism: The Biological
Expansion of Europe, 900-1900 (1986), pp. 195-216.
7 Jan
G. Taylor
Week
14
PART FOUR: THE
AMERICAS
(2) Eugene Linden, “El Nino Meets Empire,” in The Winds of
Change: Climate, Weather and the Destruction of Civilization
(New York: Simon & Schuster 2006), pp. 190-206.
(1) John Arquilla and Maria Moyano Rasmussen,“The Origins
of the South Atlantic War,” Journal of Latin American Studies,
vol. 33, no. 4 (November 2001): 739-776. *
14 Jan Dictatorship in Argentina
and the
Falklands/Malvinas War
Week
15
D. Sheinin
(1) Antonius C.G.M. Robben, “How Traumatized Societies
“Illuminados Por El
Fuego” [Illuminated by Remember: The Aftermath of Argentina’s Dirty War,” Cultural
Critique vol. 59 (2005), pp.120-164.
Fire
21 Jan
(Spanish film with
English subtitles)
Week
15
28 Jan
D. Sheinin
The Legacy of
Dictatorship and War in
Argentina
D. Sheinin
(1) David Pion-Berlin, “To Prosecute or to pardon? Human
rights decisions in the Latin American Southern Cone (Chile,
Argentina, Uruguay),” Human Rights Quarterly vol. 16, no. 1
(February 1994): 105-130. *
Natives as Middlemen in (1) Arthur J. Ray, “Fur Trade History As an Aspect of Native
the Canadian Fur Trade History,” in A.L. Getty and D.B.Smith, ed., One Century Later:
Western Canadian Reserve Indians Since Treaty 7 (1978), pp.
N. Christie
7-19
4 Feb
(2) Sylvia Van Kirk, “ ‘Women in Between’: Indian Women in
Fur Trade Society in Western Canada,” C.H.A. Historical
Research Paper
Papers, 1977, pp. 30-47.
Proposal Due
(3) Jennifer S.H. Brown, “Fur Trade Sons and Daughters in a
New Company Context,” in Brown, Strangers in the Blood
(1980), pp. 199-220
Week
(1) Robin Fisher, “The Missionaries,” in Fisher, Contact and
Capitalism and
18
Missionaries in British Conflict: Indian-European Rivalries in British Columbia, 17741870 (1992), pp. 119-145.
Columbia
N. Christie
11 Feb
(2) John Lutz, “After the Fur Trade: The Aboriginal Labouring
Class in British Columbia, 1849-1890,” Journal of the Canadian
Historical Association (1992), pp. 69-93.
Week
17
READING BREAK:
Week
19
25 Feb
Week
20
4 Mar
Week
21
11 Mar
Week
22
16-20 February
PART FIVE:
AUSTRALIA
Why Australia Was
Founded
(1) Manning Clark, “The Choice of Botany Bay,” in Ged
Martin, ed., The Founding of Australia (1978), pp. 63-76.
(2) Geoffrey Blainey, “The Tyranny of Distance,” in Martin, pp.
79-90.
(3) Alan Frost, “Botany Bay: A Further Comment,” in Martin,
pp. 252-264.
N. Christie
Settling the Australian (1) Russel Ward, “Two Noble Frontiersmen,” in Ward, The
Australian Legend (1958), pp. 238-261.
Frontier
N. Christie
(2) Henry Reynolds, “Deeds of Blood,” in Reynolds, Frontier:
Aborigines, Settlers and Land (1987), pp. 32-57.
(3) Henry Reynolds, ed., Aborigines and Settlers: The
Australian Experience (1972), pp. 7-9, 25-27, 57-59, 103-105.
(1) David Chandler, “Cambodia 1884-1975,” in Norman Owen,
PART SIX:
SOUTHEAST ASIA ed., The Emergence of Modern Southeast Asia (University of
Hawaii Press 2005), pp. 361-370.
The Cambodian
(2) David Chandler, “Revolution in Cambodia, 1975-1979,” in
Revolution
The Tragedy of Cambodian History (New Haven: Yale
University Press 1991), pp. 236-272.
V. Nguyen-Marshall
Explaining the Khmer (1) Matthew Edwards, “The Rise of the Khmer Rouge in
Cambodia: Internal or External Origins?” Asian Affairs, vol.
Rouge
XXXV, no. 1 (March 2004): 56-67.
18 Mar
V. Nguyen-Marshall
(2) Kate Friesen, “Political Nature of Democratic Kampuchea,”
Pacific Affairs vol. 61, no. 3 (Autumn 1988): 405-427.
**Term Paper Due**
Memory and History of (1) Alexander Hinton, “The Perpetrator, the Victim and the
Witness,” Manoa, vol. 16, no. 1 (2004): 137-153. *
the Cambodian
‘Genocide’
25 Mar
(2) Paul Williams, “Witnessing Genocide: Vigilance and
Remembrance at Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek,” Holocaust and
V. Nguyen-Marshall
Genocide Studies, vol. 18, no. 2 (Fall 2004): 234-54. *
Week Decolonization, the Cold (1) Odd Arne Westad, “Conclusion: Revolutions, Interventions
24
War and the “Third and Great Power Collapse,” in The Global Cold War (New
York: Cambridge University Press 2005), pp 190-206.
World”
1 April
G. Taylor
Week
23
Final Examination: TBA